Story of Kurt Cobain's "Bleach" Era Guitars

[@groundguitar]

Mistakes: 1. "Bleach" session dates are wrong - it was recorded in three different sessions, between January 1988 and December 1988. 2. “Tuh-coh-mah” not "Taco-mah”

[@101Volts]

Also, 2 parts on the Mosrite. (1:) The company's name is pronounced "Moe's Right." It's a combination of the names "Moseley," and "Boatright." (2:) The Mosrite was also *never* called a Mark IV that I know of, though there's still some slight chance that it was. The only place I've heard it called a "Mark IV" was from, I believe, one of Kurt's guitar techs. To be fair, it's a variant of the Mark V model that was assembled probably during Mosrite's bankruptcy period of Feb 14, 1969 - an unknown early 1970s date. There's some chance that it was called a "Mark IV" in the letter to the original owner, but I've never seen evidence of that. The model was a Ventures Mark V from 1966 - probably mid 1968, or whenever the Ventures association ended. It was then just a Mark V until Feb 1969. Kurt's model was a "Gospel" _variant._ Only maybe 13 of these exist as Gospel variants, and about 1,000 were made as either a Ventures Mark V and just the Mark V. The Gospel variants first show up at B1688 or B1689, and B1700 is the last Gospel version known. (These are serial numbers.) Kurt's is B1697. I'm going by Max Katzenberger's Serial Numbers List, which I might not be able to link here properly. To get there, go to the Mosrite Forum, then to the "Mosrite Guitars & Basses Vintage USA" section, then to the "Mosrite Serial Numbers - Links (On-Site and Off-Site)" thread that's stickied. You will find Max's serial numbers list linked there. Oh, and the Mark V model was a "Ventures II" earlier, August 1965 - March 1966. About 550 were made with that name. But that's confusing, because *it's the second Ventures II model* which replaced the earliest one that Johnny Ramone was known to play. Really, the original "Ramones type" doesn't have the same body outline.

[@tomb9818]

at 6:26 he says "and I'm stupidly breaking them" not "I'm just gonna keep breaking them"

[@numburger]

Takuma

[@--thatbih]

I wonder how Kurt would've felt if he were alive browsing through the internet seeing there's lots of geeks like us obsessing over evey detail of his music and art

[@groundguitar]

I don't know, I think he would've hated it - mostly because he would be the subject of it. But I also think, at least in his younger years, he loved geeking out like this himself, but it had to be about a band he liked. That's the impression that I get from reading his Journals. What do you think?

[@RichardFriendartist]

@@groundguitar I met Kurt in San Diego when they were touring for Bleach. I'd speculate what you said. He probably enjoyed learning about his favorite players and their gear, but wouldn't feel comfortable being the subject of the same conversation. He was very nice, soft spoken and we got to talk for maybe 5 or 10 minutes before they sound checked in the early afternoon/ I've never read his journals...is that a book that collects them or something published?

[@bleachstain6922]

if Kurt was alive today, he would be happy to find really cheap but cool guitars like Harley Benton on Thomann. He would buy a countless amount of guitars to smash

[@justinkrann7406]

he would say he's glad he died when he did.

[@bleachstain6922]

@@justinkrann7406 ah, another pessimist, go listen to other band, NOT LIKE NIRVANA

[@bajorekjon]

I think Kurt was saying "I'm stupidly breaking them" not "i'm just gonna keep breaking them" in regards to the quote on Univoxes.

[@DuckandBalls]

Yeah he definitely said that

[@JKeays100]

2:45 actually, Kurt describe how he got that First Mustang in his journal. Page 61. He was wandering on the Olympia college campus and saw a band of hippies playing blues and they had this guitar as a backup. Kurt bartered the guitar for 20$.

[@paulharlan2622]

It sounds like he said "I'm stupidly breaking them" instead of "I'm just gonna keep breaking them." at 6:25

[@groundguitar]

Oh, true. My bad!

[@cuh5018]

thats what i heard

[@Rhezoloution]

big. fail lol@@groundguitar

[@thomassully6421]

the mustang with the vinyl pickguard is so cool

[@mikaelhanssin_MN]

Agreed! I had never seen the likes of that before. What a cool way to spruce it up. I, myself, never cared for pick guards until just now seeing the homemade vinyl version 👍 I can dig it🤘

[@rudomcrudolph9402]

They are selling replicas in eastwood (i think)

[@seanmckelvey6618]

It's funny how Kurt was probably using the Univoxes (at least initially) primarily because they would have been cheap on the used market. Only for his very use of them to result in them now being worth a considerable amount of money. Same goes for most of the gear he used though.

[@101Volts]

The Univoxes probably went for about as much as a Danelectro Danoblaster now. Danoblasters are like slightly less sharp-sounding Stratocasters - they're a bit more mellow. The Innuendo version has 4 sound effects. The Hearsay has just 1, and that's "(Hardcore DEVO) Distortion," as I call it.

[@thomasturner8064]

No doubt. The acoustic he used on Unplugged sold for more than any other guitar in history, at least on record.

[@cuscoothriyas5163]

​@@thomasturner8064That guitar was rare to begin with and it was expensive even when Kurt got it

[@gamezharks]

That and probably the reason why McCartney liked the Höfner violin basses, which is that you can flip it around and play it left handed with very little impact to the playability.

[@ZeginMakesMusic]

I can't wait for someone famous to use a squire, then I can sell it for 1500 in 20 years😅😅

[@mastowl_7112]

Guitar : *exists* Kurt : YEET !

[@dirtcreature1]

I bought a Peterson stroborack tuner from Nirvana's guitar tech Earnie Bailey a few years ago. What a great guy, and still techs and is the owner of Wire instruments. Was cool meeting him.

[@BlueOceanBelow]

9:24 "They were completely out of tune all the time. We did a pretty good job." Lol, I lost it at that bit.

[@CheBellaTelevisione]

I really enjoyed seeing all those early nirvana footages. Thank you.

[@RichardFriendartist]

dude was a savage with his guitars. lol

[@eeshsinger]

Yooo, Ground Guitar finally has a KZbin channel after years of me being a regular on their website. Man, I'm so happy this happened. I've been a fan of their website for 6-7 years, and I'm thrilled that the official channel popped up in my recommendations. I want to thank you guys for making gear knowledge very easy to digest. Twelve-to-fourteen-year-old guitar geek me wouldn't be the same without the website. 😁

[@eeshsinger]

I also wanted to add that I'm definitely going to enjoy this channel, just like how I've enjoyed the website from then till now, hehe.

[@groundguitar]

That's awesome to hear - glad to have you here!@@eeshsinger

[@xerodelacroix5552]

He had an Explorer (presumably an Ibanez) before the Univox. The missing Bleach guitar was most likely the Epiphone ET-270, which you forgot to mention here. The black MIJ Stratocaster was modified with a Fernandes Dogfighter humbucker and Kurt installed a Gibson Tune-O-Matic bridge and tailpiece on it. It was the main recording guitar for Nevermind, but was destroyed during the recording of "Endless, Nameless".

[@mavsmav]

The Epiphone is mentioned at 08:37, you maybe missed this part. My question to you is: how are you gonna make a Gibson tailpiece fit on a Stratocaster? Kurt most likely used Gotoh T-O-M-Bridges on his mustangs..

[@xerodelacroix5552]

@@mavsmav Bruh. It's called drilling holes, if it wasn't a two post trem, if it was, the bridge drops right in, you have to drill out the body for the tailpiece. I've done it on two Strats. And yeah I did miss the quick mention of the ET-270 because it was too quick. He had two. One of them is still around.

[@mavsmav]

@@xerodelacroix5552 I didn't mean to attack you. You may misunderstood me. I was just curious how you can fit a tailpiece or studs for a tailpiece because of the trem-bar cavity. Doesn't the tailpiece have to be very near to the end of the body? Or did you drill directly next to the cavity ? I hope you understand what I mean now. I'm from Europe & my English is not the best. I didn't mean to put on a fight :/

[@lukeneale8708]

Am I correct in thinking that Endless Nameless was recorded in 1 take after a failed Lithium take? I think i heard that somewhere

[@recordingerror]

1:07 Tacoma is not pronounced Taco-ma its pronounced Tuh-koh-muh. 3:50 This is untrue, the recording of bleach is split up into three periods which are: January '88 ("Dale Demo"), June '88 ("Love Buzz" sessions) and December '88 ("Bleach" Sessions), the tracks Downer and Floyd The Barber come from the January session and Love Buzz comes from the love buzz session, the rest of the album was recorded in December. Love Buzz, Downer and Floyd The Barber use Kurt's original Hi-Flier and the December session uses the Natural finish Hi-Flier, the entire section on that guitar does not seem to understand that just because he wasn't seen playing the guitar live until January doesn't mean that he didn't have the guitar before then.

[@groundguitar]

My bad with the Bleach dates, I wish I caught it before publishing. Yeah, it's definitely possible that he used the natural Univox, and also very likely, but it's all based on speculation (unless Endino somewhere said specifically - yes, it was the blonde Hi-Flier - but I'm not aware of that). What if Kurt had another Univox which he didn't use live but used for the recording? That's also a possibility, although a much less likely one, but that was the point I was trying to make. We don't know for sure it was the natural Hi-Flier.

[@Rjhorning]

That was an awesome video. I hope u do more of them.

[@groundguitar]

Will do, Nevermind era video already in the making.

[@JustAMoky]

Bleach was recorded in 3 different sessions So jts very possible he used a univox on the recorded

[@seanmckelvey6618]

Jack Endino has said that Kurt was using a Univox during most of the Bleach sessions, Kurt even gave him a pickup from a Univox after Jack asked if he had any spare.

[@groundguitar]

True, but I think around half of the songs were recorded in December 1988. LiveNirvana has all the details.

[@groundguitar]

@@seanmckelvey6618 That makes sense actually, and works along the thoery that he used the blonde Univox.

[@macfilms9904]

Me & my Kurt Fender Jaguar repop enjoyed this - saw them twice live - still my favorite band of all time. Looking forward to the next one! (Love the destroyed guitar counter btw - it'll be hilarious when we get to the Fender Jagsatane's he got for destruction.)

[@SandauxBeats]

According to Butch Vig's interview on Rick Beato's channel, Kurt smashed the Univox when they were recording "Lithium". Butch said that there's something about the vibe of the whole recording of Lithium that doesn't feel quite right. Out of frustration, Kurt smashed the guitar. After a few days, Butch suggested a solution to Dave Grohl: recording Lithium with the aid of a click track. Dave was hesitant. But eventually give in. When they recorded Lithium, it went great.

[@Vinyl_guy]

Kurt smashed a strat durring that, there are even pics of it

[@dennisclarkofficial]

gotta love the back of that guys Nirvana tee shirt right at 4:20

[@iamsirenhead5993]

The reason that Kurt only had a makeshift mustang at one point but everyone says bleach was recorded with a unbox is because the album is a compilation of 3 sessions basically, the dale demo, love buzz/big cheese single, and the rest of the album. During the first two sessions they weren’t actively making an album but rather, recording their existing songs. He used his burst hi flier and Randall for these sessions, then the guitar was smashed. For the rest of the album that was recorded later… he used the natural hi flier and jacks twin reverb (audio engineer)

[@urliktheslayer]

Kurt’s Aria Neck is actually on display at the Hard Rock Cafe in Key West Florida.

[@anieckele]

Omg your website is freaking amazing. I went in for a quick look and suddenly it's 3 hours later and I'm going deeper and deeper lol. Subscribed and can't wait for the Nevermind and In Utero videos!

[@DefKlaw]

Here's a bit of a fact for ya's. The vinyl pickguard on Jason's telecaster is actually "At War With Satan" by Venom

[@mikaelhanssin_MN]

Is that true?! If so, that's amazing! A fantastic bit of Nirvana factoid. Great album, by the way...At War. Although, I do believe the guitarist Mantas diskiled the album due to the production (?). Regardless, it's a classic of my youth alongside Black Metal and Welcome To Hell. 🤘🔥💀🔥🤘

[@DefKlaw]

@@mikaelhanssin_MN The only real confirmation is through LiveNirvana. Apparently Jason said the following "I made a pickguard out of a Venom At War With Satan LP. I love that album, but also firmly tongue in cheek". I have a bit of a keen eye and the label on the Vinyl matches the Neat Records label that you see on Venom LPs

[@mikaelhanssin_MN]

@@DefKlaw Well, I'll be damned to the pits of Hades itself! It, most certainly, is At War With Satan vinyl (after a quick Google image search of a colorized version of Bleach album cover)! That little bit of outstanding trivia makes me feel even more drawn towards the Bleach record! Of course, the music of Bleach is basically an early, more simplified style musically of death/doom metal without death metal vocals. It's clear as crystal that Nirvana were all metal heads (listened and influenced by Celtic Frost etc.) with Dave releasing a death/thrash metal album himself, Dream Widow as well as his Probot release. Bleach is, without question, a death doom record! The track Sifting being my personal favorite of the album due to its bone crushing heaviness musically 🤘💀🤘

[@nolymitful]

The three guys on the back of the smashed guitar are the Jimi Hendrix experience

[@whale_spy]

Everyone is ovethinking about his guitars and im just here trying to figure out if his guitars were right-handed guitars but turned or left-handed guitars.

[@anonymous-uf4hg]

Calling squire a knock-off is a violation 😭

[@stevenstrother672]

Now I understand why vintage mustangs are so expensive, Kurt smashed so many of them they became rare!!😂

[@davidrice3337]

he smashed them because Fender gave them to him - and I'll guarantee you he loosened up the screws and added some strategic slices with a skill saw or they wouldn't come apart like that - Ask Pete Townshend how it went for him the first time he tried to break one up - he learned his lesson - Pete said " you gotta get them " ready" before you try to smash a guitar or you'll hurt yourself" Hilarious -

[@coldbanana4785]

bullshit, its easy to destroy if you are not a kid ;)@@davidrice3337

[@FoulBodyAutopsy]

Good joke! But possibly accurate.

[@buckodonnghaile4309]

You sound like the narrator of 1970s CBC documentaries (Canadian). Thats a good thing, cheers.

[@nm-mack4778]

He smashed the original Mosrite guitar in a fit of rage at Butch Vigs studio in Madison, Wis. Then Butch said that he had to go out and find another Mosrite guitar

[@101Volts]

Butch probably saw a Univox, not a Mosrite. The Mosrite that Kurt had was a Gospel *variant* of a Mark V model, a very rare *variant* of the model. It's supposed to be B1697, and it was supposedly stolen from him in February 1990, which pre-dates them even playing Smells Like Teen Spirit live for the first time by well over a month.

[@Vinyl_guy]

He even says in his journals that it was stolen

[@chickenaddict6128]

Amazing video!

[@GoldAmple]

Please make a video for Nevermind and In Utero

[@ginnrollins211]

7:16 I didn't know Tom Delonge went back in time to let Kurt borrow his Strat.

[@burnoutzzz]

I have the right handed version of that Hondo les paul he had. It's that blood splattered les paul in my profile picture. I love it but it was a horrible guitar before I modified it lol, it had single coils disguised as humbuckers that were so microphonic it picked up voices from across the room, the body's also laminated/plywood.

[@ej5663]

The Milestone in Charlotte was my hang out for years. I've never seen proof of the nirvana show. It was kind of surreal seeing the picture of them playing there

[@Tomnedreb]

Great and informative vid for us Kurt nerds. Thanks!

[@slapnut825]

I was really suprised by the milestone shout out thats where my band plays a ton legendary venue and very much still alive

[@Outtie8000]

Hello, I have visited your website and I have sent a photo on the blue Mustang kurt Cobain made himself thanks, -Viper

[@Grunge4Life-f9m]

Just so you know, Kurt did use a univox hi flier on the Dale Demo, so it is possible that Jack endino is getting the two sessions confused, but you wouldn't tell the difference on the audio because they literally had the same fucking pickups.

[@teddnagurski5583]

Gospel guitars aren't Mosrites, they were their own brand-just like Epiphone is it's own brand owned by Gibson. The headstock says Gospel not Mosrite. Check out "Bakersfield Guitars: The Illustrated History" for the history of Semi Mosley.

[@countvond233]

He played an Aria Cardinal, 5/2/90 Charlotte NC. Saw the show @ the Milestone. Loud and heavy AF. Sabbath loud and punchy. Soundboard tape is on here - "nirvana milestone".

[@jomiran1000]

I miss the days when you could find old guitars in pawn shops. Now it's new guitars in pawnshops and the old beaters are going for big bucks on Reverb.

[@Vinyl_guy]

cant wait to see squier bullets and epiphone sg jr’s for 1000s on reverb in the 2060s

[@RichardFriendartist]

great video by the way...this was really interesting!!

[@GlynDwr-d4h]

I'm trying to imagine Kurt Cobain soldering pickups into a guitar and for some reason can't do it.

[@Ultradocker]

7:13 anyone know what type of Reebok shoe is in this picture of the destroyed fifth guitar?

[@matthewsommerville88]

This was an awesome video dude, I learned a lot. Including about the city of tacomom! For real though great video

[@emmareneemusic]

Some of the stickers on it are those garage sale dot stickers. I found a very clear quality picture on Pinterest 2:03

[@groundguitar]

Oh yeahhh, that's what those are! Thanks!

[@nacho4194]

2:05 where is this picture?

[@nacho4194]

@@uglow_uknow fucking loving you

[@jakeellman7447]

The first Mustang was bought from some frat guy in Olympia for like $20 and I believe Krist bought it

[@Kirkland_Guitar]

If I am not mistaken, the K Records Stratocaster was played at the VMA’s

[@Galacticgospel.]

wow I didn't knew about most of these, you're very dedicated =)

[@scottbogfoot]

6:19 that quote is wrong. At the end he says, "and, I'm stupidly breaking them" clear as mud

[@briandillon8041]

I had a Univox fly higher in high school in the 70s. I think it was a copy of a mostite which she also played later. Japanese guitar but it wasn’t bad

[@KyrenDinh]

6:24 "I'm stupidly breaking them" The transcript on screen is incorrect

[@plaguearttutorials]

It really seems like stuff started going bad for him after he broke the Jesus geetar

[@NirvanaCovers74]

2:04 ,what is that picture? Is that real? Krist looks different? And that Doesn't look like chad but is His Kit, it's confusing me.

[@theflowerdoulalala]

I see anything Nirvana, I click it!! Great video!

[@wademcreynolds7428]

I'm going to call it Taco Ma every time I go there now

[@boneappletea3858]

He said he rigged his univox to break and glue back together.

[@jacobylones6934]

Do one on Randy Rhoads

[@cinnamoproductions8432]

Anyone know the band on Krist Novoselic’s shirt at 6:33

[@humanothumqn659]

Find it ironic that the founder of microsoft helped make a museum for all of the stuff that went obsolete due to his line of work....

[@TheThingoftheSky]

Wdym

[@uIt3riormotives]

0:50 where can i find that video?

[@Tiibero]

I believe kurt used the mosrite on nevermind.

[@sempercompellis]

If living hand to mouth and struggling to break it in the music industry, the last thing in the world i would do is smash my guitars especially smash a new one every few months. It just is inconceivable to me- i guess i am just too practical and i am not 23 anymore (but even at 23 i know that would be the last kind of shit i would pull)

[@Spedneck]

I bought my 1990 Washburn KC-40V from Top Kick… (that place is fucking awesome)

[@Ukraineaissance2014]

Krist originally bought the first mustang and used it as a bass strangely (following the main guitar with root notes) until they could buy an actual bass somewhere

[@franklulatowskijr.6974]

Maxwell’s was my favorite venue to play in this state until it closed. 🙁

[@rychcorporhate]

Where are the Videos for Kurts Nevermind era guitars and even Kurts In Utero era guitars?

[@groundguitar]

I'm in the middle of moving, so they're delayed. Hopefully ill be able to get back to them soon.

[@aginochio2066]

Please do the nevermind era guitars

[@Duck-numba1duck]

When will there be a new video💀💀💀

[@SMUZHILL]

I recognize one sticker right under his left arm being a coke sticker.(Coca Cola)

[@kkrsnn5632]

Great video, can't wait for the rest 😎

[@hannahherrington4829]

great video! would love to see one for nevermind and in utero :)

[@groundguitar]

Working on it (fellow FromSoftware fan)

[@BradyA1124]

8:35 Pronounced "Suh-tier-a-con"

[@billherbert4961]

I, my kiddo and his Jr bandmates love guitars and Nirvana. TBH, I made an effort to not like Nirvana in the '90s (although I DID like them) because they got commercial radio play and I made efforts to be more punk rock than that. I wasn't and I didn't know shit. I play daily but fixing and modding guitars is more my talent (sigh). My son and my dad have the real music talent in the family. It's great knowing that if we want a guitar with a Nirvana feel, ANYTHING will do! Thanks Kurt! Makes my job easier. He was a fantastic musician, but wrecking guitars is sin. REPENT! I'm talking to you too Pete Townsend and Jimmy Hendrix. Paul Simonon isn't exempt...except for one of the best record album covers ever. Break anything ya like, BUT NOT GUITARS! Saw Screaming Trees bash one to splinters and it haunts me still. Some of my best guitars are resurrected from the smash and it's tons of work getting them to play well again. Sin I tell ya, don't be a guitar bully!

[@SatanSplainer]

Nobody’s gonna talk about that Soundgarden sticker? The greatest band EVER? Okay.

[@Doady1337]

It's funny how times change and whats "cool" - if someone is smashing a guitar now, people look on, often with disgust and disapproval.

[@johnjohnson3709]

He was left handed? I’m left handed but I play a right handed guitar which seems like a better idea. My left hand is my dominant hand which is basically stronger and is used best for chording and doing lead work.

[@thecbglady]

"Taco-ma" lol

[@Michel-r6m]

Guitar manufacturers love Kurt, he kept the business afloat 😅 Btw I like Nirvana 🤠

[@xfrankierolover69x]

the random picture of jesus is so kurt 😭😭

[@KurtLassiter112]

It’s said the Kurt’s original hi-Vox is in the cobain family’s hands

[@groundguitar]

Any way to corroborate this? Interviews, books, etc?

[@KurtLassiter112]

@@groundguitar I just heard it somewhere I’ll keep you updated while I look for it

[@KurtLassiter112]

In this video I heard it in m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/r4bEfIeEiNuGh68

[@KurtLassiter112]

Oh this video

[@groundguitar]

@@KurtLassiter112 Alright, I appreciate it.

[@stevenimeson902]

Some good work

[@eyeamnecyrb4567]

He has every guitar it seems

[@robertmercer5759]

Wish I still had my univox high flyer

[@aleksandersin]

Do you consider making video about Jerry Cantrell guitars?

[@deadspeak1126]

He's used those G&L's and some Les Pauls for the most part

[@deadspeak1126]

He has some interviews on here where he talks about it

[@radbod82]

Taco-ma loooooooool

[@RabbiB0Y]

The amount of destroyed guitars is insane even the cheapest guitars out there are still upwards of 200$ which is still a lot of money so why would he constantly destroy them when the band wasn't even big yet

[@user-xo2sf4gy1o]

It's pronounced Tuh-Coma

[@Rocco32212]

for example, he was in a coma. tuh-coma

[@the_jazmin]

I love when people who aren’t from Washington try to pronounce city names! spo-KANE is another good one. Cracks me up every time.

[@Rocco32212]

yeah for Real my teacher moved from idk cant remeber but for 17 years nobody corrected her lol that story is always funny@@the_jazmin

[@ab8817]

bro is this narrator 12 years old

[@groundguitar]

Yes, bro.

[@jltrem]

This guy really needs a pronunciation coach.

[@groundguitar]

It's all that my multi-dollar budget allows at this time. It's either this or AI.

[@rwm4738]

I like this it gets to the point and isn't all fanboy. There's a channel where the guy is super cringe and basically replicates all of Cobain's guitars, it's creepy in a way.

[@TheThingoftheSky]

Yup

[@BDanger-ss08]

Pls do Billy Corgan I beg!!!

[@lesterjames-brooks4095]

Not even kidding i thought the thumbnail was bon jovi

[@onyachamp]

I actually read about his guitars around two weeks ago and was amused at how many he smashed. Seeing the counter in this vid just made it that much more hilarious.

[@Alfgunnarp]

Wonder where he got the money for all these guitars early on...?

[@bricktop201]

Dude, it’s “Tuh-coh-mah,” not “taco-mah.” Tacoma.

[@colmbolger2109]

I wonder how he would feel about his acoustic selling for 6 M.

[@GrungeHistory]

You really got to learn how to say Tacoma right and I live not even a mile from top kick pawn and sadly just went out of business last month……(Tah-coma)

[@groundguitar]

Yeaaah I know, but It's not me, it's the narrator that I'm using. I should've caught it though and had him re-record it, but it's too late now. Sad to hear about Topkick, too bad